


(I'm Falling in Love) With Your Ghost

by DistractedDream



Series: DistractedDream's Event Fics [8]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Canon Disabled Character, IgNoct (background), IgNyx - Freeform, Ignyx Week 2019, M/M, Promnis (background), canon character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-07-30 20:55:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20103487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DistractedDream/pseuds/DistractedDream
Summary: Written for IgNyx Week 2019Ignis should be dead. He put on the ring, offered himself, and he should have died. He didn't. Nyx did. And Ignis, who has never loved easily but always loved hard, finds himself drawn over and over again to a charming smile and bright blue eyes.





	1. Ring

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't need another WIP and yet the prompts for IgNyx Week got me and I came up with a story and so here we are. The chapter titles will be the prompt used.
> 
> Thank you to SerenityXStar for betaing Chapter 1!
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated and keep me writing! I can be found on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/distractedream) at Distractedream and [Tumblr](https://distracteddream.tumblr.com/), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/distracteddream/), and [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/user/distracteddream?si=_Yuds57lRve_hXzKrEF05Q) at DistractedDream. Enjoy!

Everything hurt. But then Ignis had been burned from the inside out by supernatural flame and so it wasn't the pain which surprised him. No, what worried Ignis, what he was turning over in his mind, was that when he opened his eyes, he could see.

Not that seeing seemed to help at all, the visible surroundings unfamiliar to him and definitely not the Altar of the Tidemother. A cathedral style ceiling stretched high above him, the details hazy though he couldn't tell if it was due to his lack of spectacles or simply a feature of wherever he was. He rolled to his hands and knees and found that at least the floor felt solid beneath him, even if the edges of the room... hall... place were as foggy as the ceiling.

None of which he should have been able to see, the ring's fire having burned away his vision. He didn't know where he was or what happened after the fight with Ardyn, but losing his sight... reaching for Noct's unconscious body as everything went black, he remembered that moment vividly. So how could he see now?

"Oh good. You're up."

Ignis' head snapped up, Kingsglaive uniform boots stepping silently into view. The man who'd spoken crouched down and gave Ignis a lopsided grin. He, at least, was in focus unlike portions of the room, though Ignis felt the stirrings of a headache as his brain tried to reconcile what he knew to be true and what he was currently experiencing. The glaive looked familiar with his bright blue eyes and Galahdian style but everything was so topsy-turvy, Ignis couldn't recall his name. Not that names were a priority right now. "Where am I?"

The glaive shrugged. "The in-between? The waiting room? Never been sure what to call it." He glanced around them, sneering at the emptiness, an expression Ignis didn’t know what to make of but felt certain it wasn’t directed at him. "Pretentious assholes don't seem too interested in you anymore, now that you served your purpose to them. Figures. Take something amazing and throw it away once they’re done. So! Looks like I'm your welcoming committee." He offered a hand and a charming smile. "Name's Nyx. You ready to stand up now?"

Ignis took the glaive's hand, goosebumps skittering up his forearm at the chill of the other's touch against his bare palm. He rose to his feet carefully, grateful for Nyx's assistance as the room seemed the spin as he got his balance. "Nyx. ...Ulric. The hero of the Glaive. By all accounts, the hero of Insomnia." Ignis reached to adjust his glasses, a nervous habit as he collected himself, tsking when his fingers encountered nothing but air. "The news reports said you didn't survive. How then...?"

"Said it was the in-between, didn't I?" Nyx's grin widened, his purple sash trailing behind him as he moved. "Guess saving the city put me in someone's good graces and here I am."

"In-between," Ignis sounded out the words as though doing so would help the concept make any more sense. "Does that mean you are..."

"Dead. Dust and ashes and all that good stuff."

Ignis swallowed hard, clenching his fists as his fingers threatened to tremble. The fight with Ardyn. The fire from the ring. Either one would have been enough to end his life, a life he had willingly offered to the Kings of Old. It would make sense if he was also… He averted his eyes as though studying his surroundings. "Then I am also dead."

Nyx stilled. "No. But I hear it was close."

Ignis breathed out slowly. "This... in-between. It’s a place where the dead can speak to the living?" He'd never believed in such metaphysical things before. He had never begrudged any who sought the comfort of thinking they could converse with the deceased; war was a hardship in all aspects, especially for those left behind. Who was he to naysay where others found peace? Even witnessing the Astrals themselves and Noct forging his covenants with them hadn't swayed his disbelief in anything beyond the physical realm. Yet now he stood in the very type of place he'd privately mocked. His worldview was shifted twice over and his temples throbbed. "Is that why I can see? Because of this in-between."

"Probably, but gotta say I don't know. Most people who put on the ring are dead, not injured." Nyx resumed his movement and if Ignis tried to focus on him, it looked as though Nyx was moving underwater, drifting with an unseeable tide. "It's not all the dead who come through here, or all the living in your case. Be nice if it was, but nope. Seems to be a special club. One with really expensive dues." Nyx held up his hand, a silver band of scar tissue circling his finger, burns stretching up his hand to disappear under the cuff of his coat.

Holding up his own hand, Ignis dropped his gaze to find a similar mark around his own finger. Of course. Other than their devotion to the Lucian crown, what else would bind Nyx and himself? Why else would they be in a place no others could reach but them? It was the ring. Unless Noctis wore it at the altar, which Ignis doubted, then he would have been the next person to wear it after Nyx. He frowned as he lifted his eyes to Nyx. "But I lived. I was prepared to die. Yet I didn't."

Nyx tipped his head to the side, considering Ignis’ assertion. "What did you offer? When those egotistical bastards asked you to make a sacrifice, what did you offer them for the power?"

"Myself." He knew Nyx must have made the same offer, given that he had successfully wielded the power and passed on. Why then had Ignis been spared? Ignis shook his head, rubbing at the back of his neck. "For all the good it did to try to sacrifice my life. I still lost to Ardyn."

"Did you?" Nyx's inquisitive tone captured Ignis' attention. "You wanted to save the kid. He's still alive. And so are you. I'd call that a win." His mouth quirked up. "Especially from my point of view."

"Don't take me for ungrateful," Ignis explained. "I simply expected... I expected a different result, given my reason for putting on the ring." Nyx paused again and though Ignis suspected he already knew, Nyx seemed to be waiting for Ignis to make his confession aloud. "Our motivations for wearing the ring differed significantly. You were selfless, willing to sacrifice yourself for your adopted homeland because it was the right thing to do."

"And you're saying offering yourself to save His Highness wasn't selfless?" Nyx prodded.

"It wasn't. Not at all." He lifted his chin, refusing to be ashamed. "If it were for anyone else other than Noctis, I doubt I would have been so committed. Or reckless. I suppose..." He paused, weighing his words. "I suppose dying would have been a kindness of which I wasn't deserving. Now I must live with the consequences of my decision and face Noct with my failure."

He started as Nyx stepped before him, his cold hand resting against Ignis' cheek. "You're probably a genius or something, but you can't see the most obvious thing, can you?" His face felt hot under Nyx's touch, burning almost, and Nyx held him in his gaze. "You must live. For Noctis. For all of us. For yourself. You must live, Ignis."

"But I-" Ignis needed to explain. He needed Nyx to understand; he wasn’t like Nyx. His motivations weren’t pure. Noct had been lying there, bloodied and unconscious, and Ignis’ sole thought had been to save him, save the one he loved more than his own wellbeing, no matter the cost.

"No." Nyx's thumb pressed over Ignis' lips, shushing him. "Live." He patted his cheek with a wry smile. "Now get to it. Before Amicitia has a heart attack. Got a feelin' I'll be seeing you again, Igs."

"I... Nyx... No, I..."

"Iggy! Ignis, c'mon, wake up. Fuck, please wake up." A warmer hand cupped his face, a deeper voice calling his name. "Iggy?"

"Nnnn..." Ignis groaned, lashes of his unscarred eye fluttering as he awoke. Darkness. Nothing but darkness surrounded him, the in-between fading like a dream. The darkness was his reality. "Gladio?"

"Thank fuck."

"Ignis! You had us so worried!"

As he let Prompto and Gladio fuss over him, for really what choice did he have now in his weakened state, grunting as Gladio lifted him, Ignis’ thoughts strayed to a glaive's enigmatic smile and the mark of the ring that bound them - and found himself hoping their encounter was not a one-time meeting.


	2. Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to GalacticGlaze for betaing this chapter!

"You never know what you're gonna miss the most when you die."

Ignis sat beside the hotel room window, listening to the rain beat against the glass, distant thunder making the walls shake. He assumed that lightning accompanied the noise, but it wasn't as though he could see it. They'd collected another weapon for Noct's armiger, all of them drained from the excursion, the other three sleeping as Ignis kept his blind vigil at the window, his darkened glasses set aside for the night. He should have been sleeping, he was certainly tired enough for it, but the act of laying down to close his useless eyes to slip from one darkness to another seemed abhorrent to him. Though perhaps he’d fallen asleep in the chair and now dreamed of Nyx’s voice.

"C’mon. Open your eyes, Igs."

Or not. With a long sigh, Ignis felt the air around him shift, the thunder farther away now as he slowly opened his eyes to see the glaive perched at another window before him, bare arms slung over his bent knee, his uniform clinging to the musculature of his arms, chest, and thighs. The curve to Nyx's lips told him he'd known the moment Ignis had seen him. Ignis straightened his posture against the chair’s back, gazing out the window, though the in-between provided no view of the storm. "And what is it you miss?"

Nyx let his head fall back against the window frame, drawing Ignis' eyes to the line of his throat until, blushing, Ignis returned his attention to the window. "The rain, obviously. The sound of it. The smell. Dancing in it." His eyes darted to Ignis, waiting until Ignis’ eyes were on him, the look between them heating. "Making love while it rains."

Ignis cleared his throat, feeling a blush trying to creep up his neck, not about to be baited into whatever Nyx was attempting. "That sounds rather messy. To dance in it, I mean."

"That's because you've never done it," Nyx teased, completely undeterred. "Not with the right person anyways."

"I don't believe there would be a right person," Ignis deflected with more honesty than he intended. "Rain is a necessary inconvenience. It wrecks plans and traffic and style. Too much of it or too little both cause concern. Rain is not something to simply dance in. Though..." He rested his temple against the chairback, his eyes narrowing as though if he tried hard enough, he would be able to see the storm on Eos. "It is nice reading weather. I suppose I shall miss that quite a lot."

"You're still not dead, Igs."

"Why must you call me that? Iggy is dreadful enough, but Igs… It's rather forward of you."

"Guess I don't have much use for courtly manners, being dead and all." Ignis scowled at Nyx's easy grin. "Don't give me that look. Acting like I'm not dead won't make it so." Nyx unfolded from the window, his bootsteps silent in the in-between. Ignis kept his eyes trained on Nyx's face denying himself the temptation to drink up the sight of the glaive without his uniform coat. "And acting like you're dead won't make you not alive. So live it up." He lowered himself before Ignis' chair, stealing Ignis' breath away with his mischievous blue eyes. "For me, Igs?"

Ignis found himself longing for Nyx's touch, leaning forward in his seat. The others meant well but they treated him like he might break at any moment, giving him too much space. The only one who dared touch him still was Prompto and then only when Ignis needed assistance. He wanted... His throat worked as he swallowed, tongue peeking over his lip. He wanted to be touched because someone wanted to touch him, not because he needed their help. He wanted to feel Nyx's touch again.

He was almost ready to abandon his pride and ask for it when Nyx reached up, brushing Ignis' hair behind his ear. "You think too much." He stood, Ignis' head tipping back to follow the motion. Nyx brushed his lips over Ignis' brow, the latter’s eyes falling closed again, Nyx's voice whispering in his ear. "Live, Ignis."

Ignis didn't dare dance - he hadn't completely lost his sanity yet - but as he stood outside with his face tipped up to the rain, letting it soak him through, Ignis imagined he could still feel Nyx's kiss in the rain falling on his skin.


	3. Flirtation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to GalacticGlaze for betaing!

Ignis hadn't dared mention his infrequent visits to the in-between nor the company he kept there to anyone. Not even to Noct. At first, he hadn't been certain that it wasn't some sort of hallucination brought on by the trauma he'd experienced in Altissia. However, when he'd tried to slip to the in-between willingly or to resist the pull of it, neither had worked and eventually, Ignis had accepted there were forces beyond his own will at play.

Nyx seemed to have no control over it either. Ignis had asked him once how he was always there when Ignis arrived. Did he know when Ignis would be coming? Was there some sort of alert summoning him to the in-between? Nyx hadn't answered his queries though Ignis had the impression it was because Nyx didn't know rather than an outright refusal to answer.

"Must be because we're bound," Nyx told him once in response to his questioning.

"Through the ring?" Ignis sat on the floor across from Nyx, studying his face. The tattoo under bright eyes. The braids decorating his hair, beads swinging over his shoulders. He was objectively handsome, like some dashing rogue out of one of Gladio's romance novels. Ignis had blushed vibrantly when the comparison had come to him, prompting Nyx to prod for the cause, which Ignis refused to share. Ignis shook his head, focus shifting from Nyx’s appearance back to their conversation. "Then I would be bound to Ravus. To anyone who's worn the ring. To Noct."

Nyx gave him a dry look. "And you think you aren't bound to Noct?"

Ignis felt his face heat at the observation. "You know what I meant."

They let silence fill the space between them, Nyx leaning back with his hands behind him. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, almost wistful, no trace of playfulness in his tone. "You gonna tell him?"

There was no need to ask after Nyx's meaning. "I don't see that it would do any good."

"Never know."

Ignis lifted a shoulder in a shrug. He had made peace with his feelings for Noctis years ago, shortly after he first realized what those feelings entailed. Those feelings had only grown over time, of course, but he was nothing if not disciplined and never considered burdening Noct with how he felt. "I'm content to remain his Advisor and his friend after all this time. Besides, who would bind themselves to a scarred blind man whose skills all require sight?" He gave Nyx a self-depreciating smile. "Except a dead man, of course."

Nyx's gaze hadn't faltered, boring into Ignis' eyes. "Dead or living, anyone would be lucky to have you, Ignis." Ignis started to argue, but Nyx cut him off. "Not saying that just because we're bound." His eyes trailed deliberately down Ignis' body and back up, that smirk Ignis loved and hated crossing his face. "You're a looker and a catch. Woulda been happy to come home to you on the daily."

Ignis' eyes widened at the blatant compliment. Nyx was a flirt. Ignis knew he'd been a flirt when he was still alive. There'd been no way to avoid the whispers and longing looks from his fellow Crownsguard recruits when the gorgeous glaive had walked by. But to insinuate they could have been together... That was more than a casual wink or secret smile exchanged in an empty hallway. His heart stuttered - was it a meaningless flirtation or indication of a desire for more? And how much of Nyx’s words were a result of their current situation? He had to know, reaching for the glaive’s hand. "Nyx-"

Ignis' vision went dark as he fell back to himself, waking to Noct snoring in his ear, his hand uselessly extended in the air. "Damnit!"

When he next appeared in the in-between, Ignis spun, searching for Nyx, finding him leaning casually against the wall in wait. Ignis loathed loose ends, unfinished conversations, and despite the passage of time since his last visit to the in-between, Ignis was still frustrated by the interruption to their last conversation, moreso given the content. He stepped quickly to Nyx, taking some pride in the way the other's eyes rounded as he approached. "And just what did you mean by that?!"

Nyx pushed away from the wall and into Ignis' space. Ignis has never been sure what, if any, time passed for Nyx when he left. Faced with what would likely be a similar fate, he hadn't wanted to know. "Put it to you another way," Nyx answered readily, as though they’d simply experienced a dropped call. "If I'd had a chance with you before all this shit? If you hadn't been sent off with His Highness while I was deployed? I would have chased after you until you let me take you on a date. I’d planned just that but you were gone when I came back."

Ignis ducked his head, his hand going to his face to push at the glasses he neither wore nor needed in the in-between. "You have always been an incorrigible flirt, Nyx."

“Look at me.” He waited until Ignis lifted his face. "I dropped my gear at my apartment and went to the Citadel, looking for you. After that shitty battle, all I could think about was seeing you and finally asking you to dinner.”

“But I had already left.” Ignis’ heart pounded, struggling not to get lost in thoughts of what might have been. “And I do not do one night stands.”

“And  _ I _ would have come back from the field, from every godsforsaken deployment, and searched the crowd for a pair of stunning spring green eyes looking for me every single time. That sound like a one-time thing to you?"

Ignis floundered, off-kilter from the compliment and the comment. "Fraternization-"

"Was a bullshit rule meant for soldiers on the battlefield, one which we all broke happily and repeatedly if we didn't have someone back home." His eyes burned as he stared at Ignis, voice low. "Gimme another reason."

"I... I wasn't out..." He was grasping at any reason he could come up with now. Noctis and Gladio had known Ignis' preferences, of course. To the general public, though, his personal life hadn't been relevant and he'd done his best to keep it that way. To be courted by the most eligible bachelor in the Glaive would have been fodder for weeks of gossip.

Nyx tapped his own chest. "Kingsglaive. You think I can't keep a secret?" He grinned shamelessly and Ignis had to resist leaning toward him. "I would have taken you to this great little Galahdian stand. Best skewers you've ever had. Woulda told you all about home and hung on every word you said. Now, give me another reason why not."

Nyx was goading him, he knew it. The futility of arguing with a dead man, and yet... He had to turn his face away as he worked moisture back into his dry mouth, tongue heavy with the truth, choking on the single word. "Noct."

Cool hands cupped his cheeks, making them face each other again. Nyx's voice was gentle, full of understanding. "He would have always been your priority and I woulda figured that out right away." His hands brushed over Ignis' cheekbones, tenderly caressing his warm skin. "Wouldn't have asked you to choose or begrudged you for your feelings. Like you wouldn't have begrudged me anytime I was shipped off, yeah?" Ignis shook his head as much as those hands would allow, curling his fingers around Nyx's wrists. "Yeah, didn't think so. I would have treated you like the most beautiful person in any room, the most precious thing in my world. Because you are. I would have taken care of you like you deserve, been proud to stand at your side when you wanted me to. Like I wish I could do now."

Ignis' jaw clenched, vision going blurry with unshed tears, unable to look away this time, pinned by those eyes. "Nyx. Nyx, you can't... You don't mean..."

"Don't you dare call me a liar. Call me a bastard, call me a fool, but don't you dare call me a liar." He dropped his forehead against Ignis', swiping his thumbs under his eyes, brushing away the tears. "How's it feel to have a dead man falling in love with you?"

Ignis awoke on the train screaming his frustration into the night. Prompto rushed to him, worriedly hovering over him as Ignis cried for the first time since Altissia. "It isn't fair! It isn't fair. It isn't..."

"Ssh... ssh, Iggy," Prompto said, patting his shoulder awkwardly. "I... I know... I'm sorry..."

"It- it isn't fair!" He felt Prompto's arms encircle him, warm hands on his back, and Ignis sobbed all the harder for it into Prompto's shoulder. "It isn't fair... It's not..."

"It's not," Prompto murmured. "But we're here. We'll figure everything out, okay? Okay, Iggy?" Prompto held Ignis in his arms, rocking him as he cried. "It'll be okay, Iggy. You'll see."


	4. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the angst! But the prompt is nightmares, so that shouldn't be too surprising.
> 
> Thanks again to GalacticGlaze for betaing!

They thought it was nightmares. Lingering trauma caused by whatever had happened in Altissia. He couldn't tell them. Couldn't bring himself to, well, not look Noct in the eyes, but to be truthful with him on how he'd been injured. So when he awoke with tears on his face or, worse, screaming, they assumed it was simply bad dreams haunting him and chalked any lingering moodiness up to a lack of restful sleep and having to learn to do everything again with one less sense.

Prompto was always there to comfort him. A hand on his back, reassuring nonsense repeated into his ear until he could breathe again. Never judging him or treating him like he was broken. Simply a steady guidepost for Ignis to navigate his life around.

Until Prompto wasn't there."He's gone. He's... gone. Noct said he…” He drug his fingers through his hair, tugging at the strands. “Nyx, I don't know what to do anymore without him."

Nyx gently guided Ignis’ hands from his hair. They had curled up on the floor, Ignis' back to Nyx's chest, Nyx's arms wrapped tightly around him. "Do you think he's...?"

"No. Noctis felt him use the armiger, not that it helps us find him." His throat tightened, forcing the words out. "I'm already forgetting what he looks like. I don't want to forget anything else about him. About any of them." Nyx offered no comment, only squeezing Ignis against him. "Gladio is trying to help me. But he is grieving as well and I hate to add to his burdens. And Noct…” Ignis hesitated. “I'm sorry. Should I not speak of him?"

"Told ya," Nyx whispered with a kiss to the back of Ignis' neck. "I know how you feel. Can't really get upset, seein' how I'm dead and he's not." Ignis rolled in his arms to face the glaive, his hand resting on Nyx's cheek. He squinted to bring Nyx's features into focus, smoothing his own in hopes Nyx hadn't noticed. Which meant that of course he had. "Igs? You having trouble seeing me?"

"It's simply that I don't have my spectacles. Nothing to worry about."

"Bullshit." Nyx grabbed Ignis' chin, searching his eyes. "You never had a problem before. How long has this been happening?"

Ignis pulled his head away, sitting back from Nyx's embrace with a huff. "The last few times I have been here, things were not as sharp as they were. I thought it was merely the in-between itself. The distances have always been slightly out of focus. You as well, if you were farther away sometimes. I lived for so long with my spectacles, it was bound to occur, no matter what magic was in play." He smoothed his palm over his own hair. "As I said, nothing to worry about."

He thought he heard Nyx reply, but it faded as he was pushed back into reality.

Ignis breathed a sigh of relief on his next visit to the in-between. All was in perfect clarity once more and he grinned at the sharp lines of Nyx's shoulders and back, his Glaive coat hanging crisply from his body. He thought it strange that Nyx did not turn to him immediately, but he was pleased to share that his vision clarity had returned that he didn’t dwell on it. Ignis stepped forward, heart jumping to his throat as he discovered someone else standing before Nyx.

Smaller, blonde, hair matted at the temple, that was all he could see from over Nyx’s shoulder. All he needed to see. Ignis croaked. "Prompto?!" If Prompto was there, if he was in the in-between, it meant he was most likely dead and the realization hurt Ignis more than he'd ever imagined. Neither man acknowledged him, his shoes snapping across the floor as he approached them. Nyx was holding Prompto's face, seemingly tenderly, but Ignis couldn’t see Prompto’s face clearly until he stepped to the side, coming into their sightline.

Almost as one, they turned their attention to him and Ignis covered his mouth to keep himself from screaming. Blackness filled their eyes, their different shades of blues gone, replaced with the same unnatural yellow. Their skin looked cracked, parched, black jagged lines appearing from just under their flesh as black tears and drool dripped from their faces. The Scourge. It couldn't be. It shouldn't be. Nyx was dead and Prompto... The Scourge shouldn't have been able to breach this place. And yet... Ignis’ voice strained with fear, wanting to reach for them, wishing to save them. "Nyx... Prompto..."

"Ignis." He covered his ears, Nyx's voice distorted, tortured, like anyone else in the process of becoming a demon. In the process of dying. Tears filled Ignis' eyes and, for one moment, he wished he couldn't see in the in-between either.

Prompto reached for him, the movements jerky, purple-black blood dripping from his wrist. "It's okay, Iggy. We're okay."

He took a sharp step back, gaze bouncing between them, his hands up. "No! No, no, no... You can't be... This can't be happening." His stomach twisted, tasting bile on the back of his tongue. He swallowed it, widening and lowering his stance, ready to defend himself if needed. "I won't allow it! I will not let this... disease take two of the men I love from me!"

They grabbed for him, Scourge smearing over his clothes and skin, and, though his vision blurred with tears, Ignis prepared to fight them off, his heart aching at the thought of hurting them. Nyx had a hand on his throat, Prompto scratching at his arms, and Ignis captured Nyx's forearm between his, bracing himself for the crack of bone he was about to deliver. The yellow-black eyes staring at him were vacant of anything more than blind rage, in a way making what he was about to do easier but no less painful. "I'm sorry..."

"Hey. What're you sorry for?" Ignis startled at the sound of Gladio's voice close to his ear, a hand settling on his shoulder. "Just me. You okay?"

His heart was still racing, a deep sadness settling into his soul, wiping at his eye. He shook his head to Gladio's questions, fisting his hands at his sides so that he didn't start trembling, the images he'd seen haunting him still. "I... I don't know. I just don't know anymore."


	5. Illness/Hurt/Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to GalacticGlaze for betaing!

He tried. Ignis did everything he could to return to the in-between, though at times he questioned his own sanity in doing so. He had almost contemplated how he could near death without it being permanent so he could find out what happened to Nyx and Prompto, what happened after Gladio had awoken him. The worry was eating him from the inside, causing him to snap at Gladiolus or ignore Noctis altogether, emotionally drawing away from them.

Then they were separated from Noct. And he only had Gladio to rely on as they stormed the keep to find their prince. Then he was too busy trying to stay alive to find a way to not-quite-die. When they finally reconnected with Noctis, Ignis could have hugged him, could have begged him to give up their quest. What was going on in this place... what had already happened... it was too reminiscent of what he'd seen of Nyx and Prompto and...

"Prompto's here,” Noct’s insistence broke through Ignis’ beginning spiral. “He's in one of the cells. We just have to find which one. I need your help." And Ignis had no choice but to follow his liege and his heart deeper into that horrible place, saying a silent prayer that his vision had been wrong.

And then it got worse.

"Open your eyes, Igs."

He couldn't. He hurt all over. They'd rescued Prompto, but Noctis... Noctis was... His body ached terribly, but his heart was broken, his soul ready to give up, and he couldn't fathom opening his eyes to see Nyx's eyes gold rather than blue and his face covered in ichor again.

"It's alright." Cold fingers caressed his face, a kiss as light as raindrops falling on his brow. "C'mon and open your eyes for me."

Prompto was alive. Prompto wasn't infected. So, Nyx had to be... Ignis forced his eyes open to find a pair of bright blue eyes watching him. His hand went to his mouth to contain himself. He could have cried in relief.

"There you are, beautiful. I was beginning to worry you weren't going to come back to me." Nyx pulled Ignis into his arms and, in spite of the chill of the glaive's bare arms, the action spread warmth and comfort into Ignis. He did cry then, exhaustion and agony and relief breaking down his walls, letting his vulnerability lay itself bare in Nyx's embrace. Though he half-expected to be wrenched back to reality at any moment, by some grace he remained in the in-between even as his sobs faded into shaky breaths and sniffles. Nyx stroked his hair and his back even after he settled, nosing at his hair. "Wanna tell me what's happened?"

Ignis wiped his tears from his face. "I saw you. I saw Prompto and you, when Prompto was missing, and you'd both been... infected. With the Scourge. I feared... I thought what I'd seen was real and Prompto was dead and you were..." His fingers fisted Nyx's shirt. "I tried to come back here. I needed to know if you were... were gone." He blew his breath out in a sigh. "And then we were separated from Noct and once we found him, we found Prompto. And I thought then what I'd seen must have only been a nightmare. I’d hoped. And then... Then..." His voice cracked, tears threatening to overwhelm him again, Nyx's hands a steady motion up and down his spine. "We lost Noctis. We told him to go on and find the crystal and when we arrived... Ardyn was there, but Noct..." Tears streamed down his face. "He's gone and I don't know if he's alive or if he's coming back and I can't... I can't go on without him. Nyx..."

Nyx brought Ignis back into his arms, pressing soft kisses into his temple as Ignis cried for his lost prince. "Not sure it helps much, but I don't think he's dead," he murmured. "He's used the ring, yeah?" Ignis nodded, attempting to regain control of his emotions. "So he woulda come through here and I haven't seen him."

Ignis pressed his face into Nyx’s neck, his cool skin feeling good against his emotionally-heated cheeks. "You said yourself you don't see everyone who has died."

"True." Nyx gave him a wry smile, rubbing his chin in Ignis’ hair. "But I do think everyone who wears the ring comes through here. And Noct hasn't."

Ignis forced himself to leave the comfort of Nyx's arms and stand on his own. "Then what? He's simply in stasis in the crystal? People don't get pulled into the crystal!"

"People don't, perhaps. But what about Chosen Kings?"

His mouth hung open, too distraught to feign composure any longer. "He... Noct is in the crystal then." Nyx nodded, reaching out to tangle their fingers together, letting Ignis work over the situation in his head. "Then he's okay. He's not dead. He's not lost. He's just... in the crystal."

Nyx shrugged. "I don’t know for sure, but does it make sense for the crystal or gods to hurt their Chosen one?" Nyx waited, his words deliberately phrased to let Ignis come to his own conclusions.

"No. No, of course not. Once Noct has made their covenants, they protect him." Ignis sniffled once more and took a deep breath, calmer than he'd been when he arrived, squeezing Nyx’s fingers. "I've seen the gods. Fought them alongside Noct. Fought with them when Noct has summoned them. And yet I've never felt particularly religious. I'm not among the faithful." Ignis laughed dryly. "Now I must believe Noct is okay and will return to us? From a rock. I must sound like a fool."

"Nah." Nyx grinned, lopsided and charming now that Ignis wasn't quite so upset any longer. "You wielded a power meant for kings who have the crystal's magic woven into their blood. And survived. No one else has done that. Ever. You're Advisor and Right Hand to the Chosen King, standing proudly at his side at great cost to yourself. You're tough as nails, deadly with your tongue and your blades, whipcrack smart, and gorgeous to boot." He drew Ignis closer, tilting his head slightly as he licked his lips, watching as Ignis' pupils spread wide over his eyes. "No one could ever mistake you for a fool, Ignis Scientia."

It was enough. He’d almost lost Prompto. He had lost Noct, for however long it would last. He’d thought he’d lost Nyx. Nyx had told him to live and so he would, no more holding his emotions back. "You left out one very crucial fact." His vision focused on the man before him as he slowly closed the distance between their mouths, breath ghosting over Nyx’s lips as he spoke. “I’m in love with a dead man.”


	6. Emergency

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought previous chapters were angsty? (Chapter warning: Mentions canon character death.)
> 
> Shout-out to GalacticGlaze for betaing!

“Nyx?” Ignis covered his mouth, coughing into his arm. He thought he was in the in-between. It felt like it. It wouldn’t be surprising, as battle worn as he was, emotions in turmoil at how quickly he’d gained and lost Noctis again, permanently this time, collapsing to the pavement even as he felt the sun on his face for the first time in years. His chest hurt, a physical pain eclipsing the emotional one, and he coughed again, rubbing at his eyes.

If he was in the in-between, it was dark. As dark as things had been after Altissia.

He startled at cool fingers cupping his face, his heart plummeting. “Oh, Igs. Your eyes.”

No. No, his eyes were open. He blinked and held his eyes open wider and… nothing. A broken noise escaped his throat, his knees buckling, Nyx lowering to the floor with him. His hands shook as he reached out, clutching Nyx’s coat blindly. Blind. He was… Here, in their place. He was blind here too. “I can’t… I can’t see you. Nyx, I can’t see you.”

Nyx pulled Ignis against his chest as they knelt on the floor, Ignis trembling. “You bastards!” Nyx lifted his head and screamed at kings who were not even there. “You fucking assholes! What have you done?! He’s given up everything for your bloodline! And when he can finally rest, when you pricks should be rewarding him, you take even more from him?! Fuck you! Fuck-”

Ignis coughed hard, wheezing for air between spasms of his lungs and throat, feeling wetness cover his fingers. Less thick than mucus, but warm and sticky still, and he knew, voice wrecked. “Nyx. My hand.” He felt Nyx tense against him. Confirmation. And still he asked. “It’s blood, isn’t it?”

“No! No, damnit!” Nyx ripped his sash from his coat, using it to clean Ignis’ hand. “You’re a hero, damnit. Do you hear me?! He’s a hero! Don’t-” His voice cracked, choking. “Self-centered pieces of shit. I need him to live. He deserves to live.” He pressed his forehead to Ignis’. “You can’t die. Not like this.”

“Nyx, if it’s my time to die-”

“You know, for someone so level-headed, you’re still the most dramatic person I know.”

Ignis couldn’t breathe, not only from the pain radiating from his lungs, but from hearing a voice he’d so recently accepted he’d never hear again. Nyx’s spine straightened but he didn’t let go, Ignis twisting in his arms. “Noct.”

“Hey, Specs.” He could hear the smile in Noct’s voice, drawn to it. “Nyx. Nice to see you again.”

Nyx let Ignis push himself to his feet, standing with him, a hand at his elbow. “Yeah, been too long, but coulda been longer.” He steadied Ignis as he started coughing again, arm slipping around his back. “Your Majesty. Please. Help him.”

“The crystal’s magic is gone. The ring is broken. What can I do?”

“Damn you,” Nyx hissed. “Help him, you-”

“Nyx.” Ignis curled his fingers into Nyx’s sleeve, shaking his head. “Nyx, no. I’m ready. Please. I can stay. Here, with Noct. With you. Please.”

“No! You’re supposed to live. You’re supposed to be the one who lives. I need you to live.”

Before Ignis could continue arguing, Noct interrupted, his tone measured and weighty, a king with no need for a throne. “What would you sacrifice, Nyx Ulric? To save one man’s life, what would the dead sacrifice?”

Ignis felt his heart stop for a second time that day, turning to where he felt Nyx at his side. “Nyx, no. Don’t do this.” He pulled on Nyx’s sleeve as the glaive stepped forward, genuflecting before Noctis, slipping through Ignis’ fingers. “No!” He changed tactic, hand outstretched to Noct’s voice. “Noct, no!”

“Me,” Nyx answered as though Ignis hadn’t spoken, head high. “Let me be forgotten. Let me be dust and my spirit rest. I offer myself so that Ignis Scientia can live.”

Noct was silent, whispers of old kings filling the air. “Very well. The contract is-”

“My sight!” Ignis’ hand closed on Noct’s wrist, missing his hand, squeezing desperately as the whispers silenced. “Keep my vision entirely. I don’t want it if Nyx is gone. Noctis… Noct, please. I’ve already lost you. Don’t take him too.”

“Iggy.” Noct slipped his wrist from Ignis’ grasp, taking his hand in his. “They already have your sight. You can’t bargain with something that’s not yours. I’m sorry.”

Ignis turned to look over his shoulder, to where he approximated Nyx to be. “Then I offer my ability to come here until the moment of my death.” The whispers started once more and Ignis continued speaking over them, tears falling down his face, his voice rasping. He felt Nyx press into his side, their foreheads connecting, but it didn’t weaken his resolve. “Whatever power brings me back to this place before my death, take it from me.” His head swung back toward Noct. “I will lose both of you for the rest of my life. Is that not a worthy sacrifice?”

“Igs…”

Noct’s voice echoed with the line of one hundred and thirteen kings before him. “The contract is forged.” Ignis felt Noct lift up, kissing his cheek. “Take care of Prom, okay?”

Nyx pressed his lips to Ignis’ temple, his own cheeks wet this time. “You promise to live. Promise.”

Ignis nodded, feeling them fading under his fingers. “I love you both.”

“We love you too, Iggy, but I swear to fucking Titan, you make me think you’re dead one more time, I might actually kill you.”

He gave one final cough, pushing himself to sit up, quickly finding himself with an armful of Prompto, nuzzling into his soft hair. “That’ll be the last time, Gladio. I promised.”


	7. For Hearth & Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read the previous chapter and didn't see this coming... This is really short chapter, but (SPOILER?) yes - Iggy dies after a long, full life. Don't worry; he still gets his happy ending.
> 
> Thank you to GalacticGlaze for betaing this and really helping to tighten it up!

Fifty-seven years. Fifty-seven years without even a whisper from his king or his glaive. His heart never stopped aching for them, for the loss of those he never really had. For twenty-five years of those year though, his heart ached for one he had had, for the one he had sworn his new life to, for the one who had taken his name and stood at his side like he had since the day they had left on an ill-fated journey. He still wore the ring that bound them in marriage, adjacent to a silver circular scar, binding him to a long-dead hero and a sacrifice willingly made for his king.

“You know something, Iggy? I always figured  _ I’d _ be the first to go.” The chair at Ignis’ bedside creaked and he could picture Gladio shifting his weight - though it was always a 23-year-old Gladio that Ignis pictured in his mind.

Ignis gave Gladio a wan smile, patting his hand where it rested next to his on the bed. “Will you take offense if I said I thought so as well?” His voice was barely a rasp, his breathing labored as his time drew near. “I’m glad you came. It feels right to have you here, like when Prompto passed over.” He didn’t fear death, not after losing so much already, but he was thankful to have one of his oldest friends at his side as he made the transition.

Gladio huffed, rubbing some little warmth back into Ignis’ cold hand, comforting himself more than Ignis. “Think he’s waiting for ya? And Noct?”

“Prompto, yes.” He tried to laugh, a wheezing sound slipping passed his lips. “Noctis would not be on time for anything, not even this.” Ignis took a deep breath. “It will be good to see them both again. And Nyx, I hope. I’ve missed all of them so.”

“Nyx?” Gladio reached out for Ignis’ shoulder as his dying friend tried to sit up. “Whoa there!”

“I see them!” Ignis’ unscarred eye widened, tears tracking down his face. “Gladio, I-”

He ran. He hadn’t run in years, but he ran across the blue tile and by the windows, dashing straight into the open arms of the glaive waiting for him. Over Nyx’s shoulder, he could see Prompto and Noctis waiting for him, grins on their faces. He reached for them, still clinging to Nyx, beaming as they both took his hand.

“We’re here, babe. It’s okay, see?”

“Yeah, not going anywhere, Specs.”

They circled around him, the king he’d first loved, the man he’d sworn his love to, and the ghost he’d so easily fallen in love with, each surrounding him and returning his love a hundredfold. His vision blurred, tears filling his eyes, crying his happiness at being reunited with them into Nyx’s collar. Tenderly, Nyx lifted Ignis’ chin, kissing him sweetly until the tears dried and a grin threatened to end their kiss.

“Welcome home, Igs,” Nyx whispered against his lips. “Open your eyes.”


End file.
